Written Answers

Thursday 14 December 2000

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to alter the rates payable under the Farm Woodlands Premium Scheme.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no plans at present to alter the rates payable under the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme. There is a statutory requirement to review the rates every five years and that review is now underway.

Child Safety

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Children and Young People Safety Initiative implemented by Strathclyde Police in conjunction with South Lanarkshire Council has been a success and what steps it will take to promote such initiatives elsewhere.

Iain Gray: The evaluation report which was published in 1998 certainly paints a very positive picture. The vast majority of the communities in which the initiative operated were very supportive of its aims and effectiveness. It is, of course, an operational matter for individual Chief Constables in association with their local authority to determine whether such measures provide the means to address issues of particular concern in their areas.

Community Care

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place Milestone House under the auspices of the National Services Division given its role as the national provider of care for HIV and AIDS sufferers.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are no plans to place Milestone House under the auspices of the National Services Division. The future of Milestone House is a matter for Lothian Health Board, the City of Edinburgh Council and the Waverley Care Trust to decide.

Emergency Services

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review major incident planning following the derailment of the passenger train at Mossend, Lanarkshire and any delays in summoning the emergency services.

Iain Gray: It is standard practice for all of the emergency services themselves to review any major incident and thereafter make any necessary amendments, additions or enhancements to procedures. Outcomes will be notified to the Scottish Executive either through the Strathclyde Emergencies Co-ordinating Committee – on which all of the emergency services are represented - or through the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) Standing Working Group on Emergency Procedures. The Executive attend both of these groups. Account will be taken of any lessons for major incident planning generally.

Emergency Services

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what can be done to improve the way emergency services respond to 999 calls.

Mr Jim Wallace: The respective emergency services operate to set standards or target times in responding to emergency calls. These are kept under constant review and every effort is made to maintain and, where possible, improve levels of response.

Employment

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to match supply and demand in the labour market.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Ensuring the best possible match between supply and demand in the labour market is crucial for Scotland’s future prosperity.

  A key role of the new Scottish Labour Market Intelligence Unit will be to improve the availability, both nationally and locally, of information and intelligence about current and future labour demand.

Energy

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing proposals for improved energy standards for new buildings by the end of 2000, as referred to in Making it Work Together .

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in reviewing building standards relating to the conservation of fuel and power by the end of 2000, as referred to in Making it Work Together .

Mr Sam Galbraith: Building standards have been reviewed and proposals for improved standards to conserve fuel and power were set out in a consultation paper issued on 24 July 2000. Responses were requested by 27 October 2000. Over 60 responses have now been received and are to be considered by a working party of the Building Standards Advisory Committee.

  To implement the proposals, which will require significant changes in construction practice, supporting technical guidance has to be prepared. When the standards are complete a three-month standstill period is required while the EC consults other member states to ensure the proposals do not represent a barrier to the trade in construction products. The amendments, which form part of a large set of changes proposed for building standards, will be introduced by Scottish Statutory Instrument, probably in August 2001 to come into force in November 2001.

Energy

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards providing locational guidance on renewable energy development by summer 2000, as referred to in Making it Work Together .

Mr Sam Galbraith: The revised National Planning Policy Guideline 6: Renewable Energy Developments was published on 30 November.

Enterprise

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Executive has to ensure that the business sector has telecommunications technology of the highest specification available to it.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive recognises the high importance of ensuring businesses have access to the telecommunications they need to help them achieve maximum competitiveness. This will largely be achieved through the promotion of competition.

  There are, however, actions falling to the Executive which may contribute. These will include building on public sector demand for higher bandwidth services to encourage the spread of appropriate infrastructure. The Executive is now in discussion with UK departments on these issues.

Environment

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what total area of land was designated as (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest, (b) Special Areas of Conservation and (c) Special Protection Areas in each year since 1990, showing the cumulative total for each category of land designated for each year.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The information requested for the area of land designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and classified as Special Protection Area (SPA) is contained in the tables attached. No sites have yet completed the full course to designation as Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

  Changes in SSSI Numbers & Area Since 1990

  


Financial Year


Total Number of SSSI


Total SSSI Area (ha)


Net Increase in SSSI 
Numbers


Net Increase in SSSI 
Area (ha)




1989-90


1,262


780,815










1990-91


1,319


803,906


57


23,091




1991-92


1,350


816,596


31


12,690




1992-93


1,359


835,083


 9


18,487




1993-94


1,373


847,110


14


12,027




1994-95


1,382


865,617


 9


18,508




1995-96


1,398


892,840


16


27,223




1996-97


1,433


914,030


35


21,190




1997-98


1,442


916,080


 9


2,050




1998-99


1,448


919,597


 6


3,517




1999-2000


1,458


990,809


10


71,212




April 2000 to date


1,448


995,821


-10 


5,012




  Note: The discrepancy between net difference and number of new sites is accounted for by amalgamation of sites on renotification, notified SSSI not being confirmed, denotifications etc.

  Data as at 5/12/2000.

  Changes in Classified SPA Numbers & Area Since 1990

  


Financial Year


Total Number of SPAs


Total SPA Area (ha)


Net Increase in SPA 
Numbers


Net Increase in SPA 
Area (ha)




1989-90


11


18,700










1990-91


18


26,024


7


7,324




1991-92


18


26,024


0


0




1992-93


26


56,373


8


30,349




1993-94


33


60,835


7


4,462




1994-95


43


73,859


10


13,024




1995-96


55


86,928


12


13,069




1996-97


69


114,899


14


27,971




1997-98


87


202,199


18


87,300




1998-99


101


369,876


14


167,677




1999-2000


114


393,379


13


23,503




April 2000 to date


117


404,120


3


10,741




  Data as at 5/12/2000.

Environment

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount of funding was made available for managing and protecting (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest, (b) Special Areas of Conservation and (c) Special Protection Areas in each year since 1990, expressed in today’s prices.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Details of expenditure by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) on Management Agreements for Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) made under section 15 of the Countryside Act 1968 are available in Facts and Figures published annually by SNH and held in SPICe. The table below sets out that information, which includes expenditure on SSSIs that are also classified as Special Protection Areas or have been proposed as Special Areas of Conservation. The higher level of expenditure in 1991-92 to 1993-94 reflects a small number of large compensatory management agreements, which paid land managers for not going ahead with damaging operations. Additional funding provided from SNH grant aid and from other Scottish Executive agri-environment programmes and from the Woodland Grant Scheme has also helped to secure beneficial management of protected areas. It is not currently possible to disaggregate from these schemes the amount of money spent on protected areas. SNH also offer management schemes targeted at particular habitats and species. Their intended expenditure on these schemes in the current year is £804,722 and principally supports the management of protected areas.

  


Financial Year


Section 15 Management
Agreement
- Actual Expenditure


Expressed in today’s 
prices




1989-90


£1,688,686


£2,393,907




1990-91


£2,109,727


£2,773,949




1991-92


£4,177,699


£5,175,159




1992-93


£4,143,868


£4,971,051




1993-94


£4,443,778


£5,193,089




1994-95


£2,841,068


£3,274,063




1995-96


£2,426,988


£2,718,705




1996-97


£2,503,558


£2,717,094




1997-98


£2,015,597


£2,127,189




1998-99


£2,024,094


£2,075,525




1999-2000


£1,883,405


£1,883,405

Environment

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individual land owners were notified that land they owned would be designated as a (a) Site of Special Scientific Interest, (b) Special Area of Conservation and (c) Special Protection Area in each year since 1990, showing the cumulative total for each category in each year.

Mr Sam Galbraith: This information is not available. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) consults all those with interests in land affected by a proposed designation but does not require proprietors to specify the nature of their tenure of that land. A project to record centrally information on owners and occupiers for each Site of Special Scientific Interest, including total numbers, is currently being undertaken. It is due for completion in the financial year 2001-02.

Environment

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individual tenants were notified that land they rented would be designated as a (a) Site of Special Scientific Interest, (b) Special Area of Conservation and (c) Special Protection Area in each year since 1990, showing the cumulative total for each category in each year.

Mr Sam Galbraith: This information is not available. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) consults all those with interests in land affected by a proposed designation but does not require proprietors to specify the nature of their tenure of that land.

Equal Opportunities

Mr Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that ethnic minorities have access to mainstream services.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive’s Equality Strategy, which was launched on 6 November, sets out a framework of action for taking forward the Executive’s commitment to equality, including the mainstreaming of equality into policy development, service design and delivery.

  The Race Equality Advisory Forum will also present action plans to Ministers shortly with recommendations to tackle institutional racism and promote race equality in areas such as health, education, housing and local government.

Equal Opportunities

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring procedures are in place to ensure that the bidding process for Ethnic Minority Grants is transparent and accountable.

Jackie Baillie: The Ethnic Minority Grants Scheme is administered on behalf of the Scottish Executive by the Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund. Applications are made to the fund, whose Board of Trustees consider them before making recommendations to the Scottish Executive. Scottish Ministers make the final decision on all applications. All applicants are notified of the outcome of their application and the reasons for its success or failure. Details of successful applications for next year were announced last month and are available on the Scottish Executive website.

Equal Opportunities

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Racial Equality Councils regarding future funding arrangements.

Jackie Baillie: The Scottish Executive currently has no statutory power to provide core funding to Race Equality Councils. The means by which the Executive provides other support to the black and ethnic minority voluntary sector is currently being reviewed and a report is expected by the end of January.

Equal Opportunities

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place for promoting racial equality through the funding of Social Inclusion Partnerships, how the need for any such funding has been identified, and what plans there are to establish other such Social Inclusion Partnerships in future.

Ms Margaret Curran: Two Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) have been established specifically to address the exclusion of people from minority ethnic communities. The Glasgow Anti-Racist Alliance Social Inclusion Partnership and the Frae Fife Social Inclusion Partnership receive funding of £781,000 and £165,000 respectively in 2000-01 from the Scottish Executive’s Social Inclusion Partnership Fund. These funding allocations were based on the bids for Social Inclusion Partnership status which were approved by an independent advisory group. There are no plans to establish any new Social Inclusion Partnerships at this stage.

  However, all of Scotland’s 48 Social Inclusion Partnerships are important vehicles for addressing injustice and discrimination wherever it occurs. Area-based SIPs are already required to monitor their impact on women, people with disabilities, and people from minority ethnic communities. We are currently undertaking research to review the extent to which this has been achieved and whether more needs to be done.

Fire Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the current level of vacancies for retained fire fighters compares with each of the last three years, broken down by brigade.

Iain Gray: The latest information available is the number of vacancies on 31 March 2000. Figures for that year and the preceding three years are as follows:

  Retained personnel (all ranks) of Scottish fire brigades:

  Shortfall between established posts and staff in post on 31 March

  


Brigade


1997


1998


1999


2000




Central Scotland


16


17


6


0




Dumfries and Galloway


10


1


0


0




Fife


16


17


10


8




Grampian


47


39


54


46




Highland and Islands


283* 


52


49


47




Lothian and Borders


6


2


23


23




Strathclyde


59


23


56


49




Tayside


18


26


17


21




  Source: statistical returns to HM Inspectorate of Fire Services.

  *  Reflects increase in establishment by 274 posts over figure for previous year, consequent upon re-grading of volunteer posts.

Fire Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make available funding to make rural fire stations suitable for the employment of women as retained fire fighters.

Iain Gray: Capital allocations for the fire service are to increase by £19 million over the next three years, representing in the third year a 51% increase over the present level. This will assist fire authorities to provide suitable facilities for women firefighters where that has not already been done.

Fire Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to assist fire brigades to recruit retained fire fighters or to improve rural fire services generally.

Iain Gray: We recognise the importance of ensuring that retained units are kept up to strength. The Scottish Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council (SCFBAC) will shortly be considering the plans of HM Inspectorate of Fire Services to carry out a thematic review to assist in the development of strategies to improve the recruitment and retention of retained, auxiliary and volunteer firefighters. The improvement of fire services in rural areas is an ongoing process which will be greatly assisted by the increased provision for the fire service announced in the recent financial statement.

Fire Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average response times for emergency fire services have been in each brigade area covering rural communities in each of the last three years.

Iain Gray: Average response times in remote rural areas, where provided by fire brigades, are given in Table 1b of Comparing the Response of Scottish Councils: Police and Fire , published by the Accounts Commission for Scotland in January 2000, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 7717). The table covers 1998-99, 1997-98 and 1996-97. Figures for 1999-2000 are expected to be published in mid-January 2001.

Fisheries

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will press the EU Fisheries Council to seek compensation for Scottish fishermen should they have to cease fishing for cod.

Rhona Brankin: I see no prospect of Scottish fishermen having to cease fishing for cod. The recent negotiations between the EU and Norway saw an agreed total allowable catch of 48,600 tonnes.

Football

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to contribute financially to a Scottish bid to host the Euro 2008 football championships.

Allan Wilson: Consideration will be given to the nature and level of Scottish Executive support for a bid for the Euro 2008 football championships once a decision has been taken by the Scottish Football Association on whether or not it intends to bid for the championships.

Forestry

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial resources will be made available to support the Scottish Forestry Strategy.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has allocated £92.1 million to the Forestry Commission over the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04. In addition, the Rural Affairs Department is expected to spend £18 million on the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme, SNH will support several projects including the Central Scotland Countryside Trust, and Scottish Enterprise is planning to invest up to £15 million in priority projects.

Gaelic

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what is the current position with the implementation of the Gaelic Taskforce Report.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: I expect to make a statement soon.

Housing

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Social Justice last met representatives of Scottish Homes.

Jackie Baillie: I met the Chair, Chief Executive and other senior officials of Scottish Homes on 27 November to review their performance against ministerial targets in the current year. I had a further meeting with the Chief Executive on 5 December.

Information Society

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be represented at the EU Conference on Regional Policy and the Information Society to be held in Lyon on 16 December.

Mr Jack McConnell: The conference being held in Lyon between 18-19 December is not an Inter-Governmental meeting and the Executive will not be represented. We welcome the aims of conference to discuss the development of the information society within the context of eEurope with a view to influencing structural policies at the European level. We are fully aware of the significance of the information society to Scotland’s economic and social development. Indeed, our own Digital Scotland initiative, which is being given high priority within the Executive, shares similar objectives to eEurope, particularly on accelerating access to the Internet and promoting social inclusion.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of Procurators Fiscal in Glasgow and to monitor the impact of any increases in workload within the criminal justice administration system.

Colin Boyd QC: The number of Procurators Fiscal in Glasgow has increased over this year, with three additional deputes. A further depute and five precognition officers have just been added to the structure and will be in place by early January. The resource planning process which will set staffing levels and other resource allocations from April 2001 onwards is under way, and will be completed early next year. During that process current and projected workload statistics, including an increase in reports of serious crime in Glasgow, will be carefully taken into account.

Lifelong Learning

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what controls on learning providers have been established to ensure equity of charging on Individual Learning Account approved learning.

Ms Wendy Alexander: We are seeking to ensure that Individual Learning Account holders have the information they need to make an informed decision about the learning that best suits their needs. Amongst the factors influencing their choice will be value for money so the learndirect scotland database includes a field inviting learning providers to give price details. This transparency should encourage competitive pricing.

Local Government

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11109 by Peter Peacock on 23 November 2000, how community councils can carry out their statutory duties without funding to take local authorities to judicial review.

Peter Peacock: Community councils do not have statutory duties or powers. They are intended to act as a voice for their local community, representing the views of the community to local authorities and other public bodies operating in their area.

NHS Funding

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of Greater Glasgow Health Board’s funding in the current financial year comes from receipts from the sale of former hospital sites.

Susan Deacon: In the current financial year the Greater Glasgow Health Board and the NHS Trusts in its area are forecasting receipts from the sale of hospital sites of £8.66 million. Under the established arrangements for the retention of capital receipts the Health Services in Greater Glasgow will retain a minimum of £4,350,000. More may be approved for retention subject to submission of detailed business cases.

NHS Funding

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued to health boards concerning the use of income generated from the sale of former hospital sites.

Susan Deacon: A policy was introduced on 1 April 1998, whereby individual health boards and NHS Trusts in Scotland were given the opportunity to benefit directly from capital receipts resulting from the disposal of surplus assets.

  The policy introduced the general principle that health boards and NHS Trusts retain capital receipts as follows:

  For receipts up to £500,000, the full value;

  For receipts over £500,000 but less than £1 million - £500,000;

  For receipts over £1 million but less than £8 million – 50% of the value;

  For receipts over £8 million - £4 million

  The retention of a greater share of a capital receipt, up to the full value, may be permitted following the approval of a business case by the Scottish Executive Health Department. The Health Department is currently examining how further improvement can be achieved in the disposal of surplus NHS land or other assets.

Nurses

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that specialist nurses are appointed to all hospitals.

Malcolm Chisholm: The recruitment of nursing staff is primarily a matter for individual NHS Trusts but the Scottish Executive has funded an additional 210 nurses for specialist training in priority areas this winter.

Nurses

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to encourage skilled and experienced nurses to remain in frontline work in the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has already demonstrated its belief that an investment in staff is an investment in patient care. Last year’s pay award for nurses was implemented in full, without staging with particular targeted awards for 8,500 of our most experienced nurses who received 7.8% or more than £100 per month.

  We realise that pay is not the only factor in encouraging skilled and experienced nurses to remain in frontline work in the NHS in Scotland and that is why guidance on family friendly policies which will address issues such as flexible working, childcare and breast feeding will be issued in the New Year. Through the Education and Training Strategy we are also investing in the skills of staff to help them perform their roles and duties and develop their full potential.

  In addition I have announced the creation of nine new consultant nurse posts bringing the total to 12 in Scotland. This will enable highly skilled experienced and motivated nurses to move up the career ladder whilst remaining in frontline work.

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the last independent evaluation of the extended interview process used in the assessment of prospective Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPOS) in Scotland rank police officers took place; who carried out the evaluation and what the results were.

Mr Jim Wallace: The last evaluation of the extended interview process was carried out in 1995 by the Home Office Assessment and Consultancy Unit. A number of changes were made to the 1996 extended interview process including the introduction of two new exercises and eight new competencies. The extended interview process is used to select officers for attendance on the Strategic Command Course (SCC). Attendance on that course is a requirement for appointment to chief officer rank in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is not presently a requirement in Scotland.

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence exists regarding the validity or merits of the extended interview process in the Scottish police service.

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence exists regarding the reliability and accuracy of the extended interview process in the Scottish police service.

Mr Jim Wallace: Validation undertaken by the Home Office Assessment and Consultancy Unit in relation to aspiring chief officers shows that the extended interview process gives a high predictability of future potential and performance at chief officer level. I will write to the member with more detailed information.

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many candidates from police forces have (a) attended and (b) been successful in the extended interview process in each of the last five years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The number of applicants from Scottish Forces for the Extended Interview process is as follows:

  


Extended Interview
Year


No. of Applicants


No. of Successful 
Applicants




1996


9


2




1997


2


0




1998


6


1




1999


12


2




2000


30


5

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been commissioned into why some Scottish police officers do not pass the extended interview process and what the major conclusions were of any such research.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Home Office Assessment and Consultancy Unit undertook an analysis of the results of the Extended Interview process between 1997 and 1999. In addition HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary has undertaken some research on this matter. I will write to the member with the details and place a copy of my letter in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland rank officers have been appointed by each police force in each of the last five years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The details are as follows:

  


Force


1996


1997


1998


1999


2000




Central


1











2




Dumfries & Galloway


2
















Fife


1








1


1




Grampian





2


1


1







Lothian & Borders


1





2





1




Northern


1


1













Strathclyde 


1





5


1


1




Tayside

 
 

1

 

1

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland rank officers have been appointed in each of the last five years without previous experience of working in the police service in Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information is as follows:

  


1996


1997


1998


1999


2000




1


1


2


2


1

Public Transport

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made regarding the establishment of a framework for a national transport timetable system by the end of 1999 and its implementation by the end of 2000, as referred to in Making it Work Together .

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is working in partnership with local authorities and transport operators to implement a multi-modal public transport information system covering the whole of Scotland, and with connections to other GB services, by 31 December 2000. The Scottish Executive is contributing up to £1 million towards the capital and set-up costs of the new system.

Public Transport

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made regarding the publication of an action plan on "through ticketing", scheduled for completion by March 2000, as referred to in Making it Work Together .

Sarah Boyack: I announced a five-point Action Plan on Through Ticketing at the Scottish Association for Public Transport AGM in Edinburgh on 18 March. The Action Plan charted the way ahead by building on the joint ticketing arrangements included in the Transport Bill and the commitment to establish a link with the National Public Transport Timetable. The plan has been subsumed by the Transport Direct Initiative announced by DETR in their 10-Year Plan in July, in which the Scottish Executive is committed to playing a full part.

Rural Affairs

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support its Rural Affairs Department provided or plans to provide in revenue and capital support for each Scottish Agricultural and Biological Research Institute in 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 and how many personnel were, are and will be employed at each institute in each of these years.

Rhona Brankin: Revenue support for current expenditure at the five Scottish Agricultural and Biological Research Institutes is provided through the payment of grant-in-aid. Support for capital expenditure is provided by means of grant. The sums actually paid to the institutes in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, the allocations for 2000-01, and the provisional allocations for 2001-02 are shown in the table, together with the actual or expected total staff numbers (full-time equivalents) at each institute at 1 April in each year.

  





1998-99


1999-2000


2000-01


2001-02




£k


No.


£k


No.


£k


No.


£k


No.




HRI


Current


2,836





2,879





2,992





2,862







Capital


201





284





230





250







Staff





129





124





122





117




MLURI


Current


5,816





5,903





5,992





6,142







Capital


276





450





550





557







Staff





274





275





256





254




MRI


Current


3,587





3,665





3,719





3,812







Capital


134





150





250





280







Staff





141





140





143





147




RRI


Current


5,812





5,899





5,988





6,138







Capital


288





528





697





1,042







Staff





273





240





255





274




SCRI


Current


7,283





7,393





7,503





7,691







Capital


408





659





1,359





1,233







Staff

 

353

 

349

 

340

 

337




  HRI – Hannah Research Institute

  MLURI – Macaulay Land Use Research Institute

  MRI – Moredun Research Institute

  RRI – Rowett Research Institute

  SCRI – Scottish Crop Research Institute (includes BioSS)

Social Inclusion

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce the level of personal debt.

Jackie Baillie: Tackling debt is a key element of the Scottish Executive’s Social Justice agenda and we have been working in partnership with a wide range of organisations to improve the financial services available to people on low incomes. Measures being developed or under consideration include:

  - Arrangements to provide free, high quality money advice for all who need it;

  - Encouragement of the provision and use of basic bank accounts;

  - Delivering wider access to low cost credit through the development of credit unions;

  - Provision of low cost insurance with rent schemes.

  The Executive is also providing active support to moves by the Department of Trade and Industry to improve lending practices of credit providers and transparency of information provided to consumers.